Significant fall in government borrowing, official data reveals

Government borrowing fell to £52 billion in the year to the end of March, data published by the Office for National Statistics (ONS) has revealed.

As a result, government borrowing is now at its lowest level since the 2008 financial crisis.

However, experts have stated that the fall in borrowing was helped by one-off factors, and warned that rising inflation, an ageing population and an increase in healthcare costs will continue to add pressure to public finances.

Samuel Tombs, UK Economist at Pantheon Macroeconomics, said that the Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR) ‘expects borrowing to rise to £58.3 billion this year’.

He continued: ‘The chance that the Autumn Budget contains net tax rises – like all of the last six post-election Budgets have done – is very high.’

Chancellor Philip Hammond recently hinted that the Conservative party may amend or potentially abandon its 2015 manifesto pledge not to raise income tax, national insurance or VAT.